The invention relates to a mounting device for a folded airbag, especially for a folded side airbag, comprising a base plate, a clamping portion encompassing the airbag in ring shape and a fixing plate adjacent to the clamping portion. Furthermore the invention relates to an airbag module comprising at least one mounting device.
Airbags are typically installed in safety systems in a folded condition so that they have a defined expansion in the case of release and can be stored in a space-saving manner. The airbags folded in this way have to be retained in their folded state. For this purpose, in the state of the art mounting devices are known for clamping the folded airbag in its folded condition so that if is retained in its folded condition. The state-of-the-art mounting devices typically include a ring-type airbag receiving portion for receiving the folded airbag, wherein the folded airbag is fixed by clamping by a tongue-like strap between two plates of the mounting device.
A mounting device of this type is known, for example, from EP 0 983 915 B1. There is shown a mounting device comprising a base plate, a fixing plate and an interposed clamping portion. In the clamping portion a joint is provided for dividing the clamping portion into two approximately similar segments, with each of the base plate and the fixing plate being arranged on one of said segments. The two segments further are configured to form an annular airbag receiving portion into which the airbag is inserted in the folded condition. For preliminary fixing an end strap of the airbag is guided out of the airbag receiving portion and is pinched between the fixing plate and the base plate so that the folded airbag can be retained in its position inside the airbag receiving portion and in addition is fixed.
It has turned out to be a drawback of this solution that it is complicated to accommodate the folded airbag and to pre-fix the end strap and that an increased space is required for assembly, respectively.